Thomas lovelidge



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS LOVELIDGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

LOOM.

Specification forming part ofLetters Patent No. 27,136, dated February 14 1,Q; Reissned December 15, 1863, No. 1,589.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Trios. LovELIDGE, of the city and county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Looms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists in an escapement or pallet wheel secured to the warp beam, a weighted pallet lever, an arm and a catch, in combination with two stationary rollers and a movable weighted bar, the whole of the parts being arranged for joint action in the manner described hereafter so as to let off the requisite amount of warp from the beam and at the same time maintain it at a uniform tension.

In order to enable others skilled in this class of machinery, to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

,On reference to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specica tion--Figure 1, is a side View of sufficient of an ordinary power loom to illustrate my improvements; Fig. 2, the same with my improvements in a position differing from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3, a rear view of the loom, and Figs. 4 and 5, diagrams illustrating the operation of my improvements.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A and A are the two side frames of an ordinary power loom, connected together at suitable points by appropriate stay rods.

B is the cloth beam situated in front of the loom and turning in the opposite frames.

C is the breast beam, D the slay or lathe secured to the arms E Ev which are hung, one to a pin in one frame, and the other to a pin in the opposite frame.

F is a spindle for supporting the harness and G is the warp-beam hung to the rear of the loom, and turning in the opposite frames A and A.

The above mentioned parts are similar to those of ordinary looms and therefore require no further description.

The necessary vibrating motion is imparted to the lathe by t-he cranked driving shaft, and connecting rods common to power looms generally.

To one end of the warp beam Gr is secured an escapement wheel H, t-o the teeth of which are adapted the two pointed projections a and a of the pallet lever I, which is hung to a pin on one of the side frames and which has a` weighted projection tending to maintain the projection a in, and t-he projection a out of gear with the teeth of the wheel.

On the upper end of the pallet lever I, and forming part of the same is a projecting arm i to which is hung a lever J, which will be more particularly alluded to hereafter.

i K, K1 are two levers secured one near each end of a shaft 71, which is hung loosely to the opposite frames of the loom. Each lever is furnished with a sliding weight L, which may be adjusted to any desired posi tion, and the bentends of the opposite levers are connected together by a bar lm, which is situated between the two rollers n and al, the latter turning in brackets M one of which is secured to each frame of the loom. The position occupied by the bar m in relation to the rollers n and n, will be best observed on reference to the diagrams Figs.

4 and 5.

One of the weighted arms K or the bar m near one of these arms, bears on the end of one arm of the lever J, the opposite arm projecting forward toward the rear of the lathe D, to which is secured an arm f.

The warp, which is shown in red lines, passes from the beam G, upwards over the roller a under the bar m of the levers K and K1, over the roller n thence through the usual reed i'n the lathe I) where it is woven, the woven fabric passing over the breast beam C and thence to the cloth roller B, round which it is wound by the usual ratchet wheel and catch, operated by any moving part of the loom.

The position of the weighted arms K and K1, and their transverse bar m, depends upon the position assumed by the warp between the two rollers n and n', the bar m bearing on the warp at this point with a pressure invariably the same.

Now supposing the bar m to be in its lowest position between the rollers n and al (see diagram- Fig 4), as the fabric is woven around the cloth beam the warp will be stretched and as the warp beam is prevented from turning by the pallet lever I,

excepting onV certain occasions referred to hereafter the warp, which had been previously depressed between the two rollers, as seen in Fig. 4, will be gradually raised, as seen in Fig. 5, thereby raising the bar m and with it the levers K and K1. Now the position of the lever J depends upon that of the arm, K, against which this lever bears, so that as the bar m with its arms, are raised the' forward end of the lever will be lowered, passing from the Y'position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 2, where it is within the range of the projection f on the lathe D. As long as this lever remains elevated above the range of this projection, its position is undisturbed, and the palletI lever continues to prevent the warp beam from turning, and the warp consequently from escaping.V The necessary amount of warp to take the place of that woven by the lathe and taken up on the cloth beam, is supplied by the gradual rising of that portion of the warp depressed between the two rollers n and n. /Vhen no more of this depressed warp however remains to be delivered out, it becomes necessary to abstract another supply from the warp beam, and it is at the point where the supply of warp between the rollers is exhausted that the forward end .of the lever J comeswithin the range'of the projection f of the lathe. This projection strikes the end of the lever, moves the pallet lever I so that its projection a moves out of gear, and the projection a into gear with the escapement wheel H.

The moment the projection j is, by the forward movement of the lathe, free from contact with the end of the lever J, the weight on the pallet lever instantly restores the latter to its original position. On this sudden movement of the pallet lever the escapement wheel will be turned round to the extent of one tooth, and a limited amount of warp will be delivered off. This sudden letting off of the warp does not in any way impair that uniform tension which is necessary for the proper weaving of the fabric, for the moment this slack is given out, it is taken up by the bar m which depresses it between the rollers n n as before (see Fig. 4) at the same time, by the depression'of the arms K and K', the forward end of the lever J is raised and remains beyond the range of the projection f until another supply of warp has to be obtained from the beam, which becomes necessary when the supply between the two rollers n and n has been expended. A repetition of the aboveV described movement then takes place.

In ordinary looms the proper tension of the warp is obtained by applying friction to the warp beam. This friction is uncertain and liable to vary, consequently imparting a varied tension to the warp, when defects in the fabric will be the certain result. It becomes necessary too in ordinary power looms to vary the amount of friction to compensate for the lessened diameter of the warp beam, as the warp is drawn from the latter, thereby causing repeated stoppages and delays. It will be readily seen that my invention obviates the above difficulties as the tension on: the warp caused by the pressure of the weighted bar m remains invariably the same.

Although I have illustrated and described my improvement as applied to an ordinary power loom, it is equally well adapted to Jacquard and other fancy looms as well as to ordinaryV hand and carpet looms. My invention can also be applied with much advantage to that class of knitting and lace machines in which a warp composed of delicate thread, and requiring a uniform tension, is used.

I do not desire` to claim broadly maintaining the warp at a uniform tension by means of a movable weighted bar or whip roller in combination with two stationary whip rollers, nor do vI claim regulating the letting off of the warp by means of the said movable bar or whip roller; but

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The escapement or pallet wheel H on the end of the warp beam, the weighted pallet lever I, the arm J and catch f, in combination with the rollers n and n and the weighted bar m, or its equivalent, the whole of the parts beingarranged for joint action as and for the'purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. v

THOMAS LOVELIDGE.

lVitnesses: y

HENRY HowsoN, CHARLES D. FREEMAN. 

